


An Underworld Christmas Carol

by sweetie_buttons



Category: A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens, Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types
Genre: A Christmas Carol AU, Everyone hates Hades, Hades is flawed
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-24
Updated: 2020-12-30
Packaged: 2021-03-11 00:29:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,014
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28286259
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sweetie_buttons/pseuds/sweetie_buttons
Summary: The night before Christmas, Hades manages to make everyone around him hate him so he's alone in his palace on Christmas Eve. That night, he's visited by three spirits who try to teach him to change his ways. Will he learn to mend his relationships with everyone he angered and embrace the Christmas spirit, and maybe even become less cold and heartless?
Relationships: Demeter & Hades (Ancient Greek Religion & Lore), Hades/Persephone, Nico di Angelo & Hades
Kudos: 13





	1. The Night Before Christmas (or, Everyone Hates Hades)

It was the night before Christmas. Hades was in his palace, in a meeting with all his subjects, who were being as irritating as always. He didn't know why he had scheduled meetings. It wasn't like he cared what his servants thought. It was just useful to get everything sorted regularly.

The worst part was listening to Charon's requests for pay raises. He was almost tempted to oblige, just to shut him up. When it was his turn to voice his complaints or suggestions, Hades groaned internally.

But instead, Charon said, "My lord, do you know what day it is?"

"The day you actually start working for a change instead of pestering me for pay raises?" Hades suggested irritably.

"It's Christmas Eve," Charon explained, used to his lord's irritability. "Surely you know of the holiday?"

"Of course I do," Hades snapped. "Well, good for the mortals who celebrate it."

"I was simply wondering..." Charon paused. "Perhaps, due to the holiday season, you could consider giving me a pay raise?"

"What?" Hades scoffed at the suggestion. "That's desperate even for you. I see no reason a frivolous holiday celebrated by mortals should be a reason to give you a pay raise."

"Let me explain," Charon pleaded. "Most mortals give their workers a day off for the holiday. I know you obviously can't do such a thing, but perhaps you could at least give me a pay raise instead."

Hades' eyes narrowed. "I don't care what mortals do. If you desire a pay raise, there is one way you can get one."

"How?" Charon asked eagerly.

"Try working harder and stop bothering me."

Charon's face well. "But I do!" he insisted. "I try my hardest."

"Well, your hardest isn't good enough," Hades snapped, losing his patience. "Now go, before I decide to lower your pay instead."

Charon looked like he was considering arguing, but left as instructed. Hades didn't miss the venomous glare he threw his way, but he didn't particularly care.

The meeting lasted for a while more before Hades called all his servants back to work while he returned to his throne room. He quickly returned to his paperwork, feeling as annoyed as usual. Before he could continue with the mountain of work in front of him, he heard a knock on his door. Did one of the servants have the gall to interrupt him after the meeting?

"Come in," he snapped, not looking up from his paperwork. The door slowly opened, and Hades looked up. He was surprised to see who it was.

It was his son, Nico. He spent most of his time at Camp Half-Blood now, which was fine with Hades. He didn't quite know how to deal with children. Or anyone, for that matter.

"What is it?" he asked irritably. "Make it quick. I just finished a meeting."

"I... I'm sorry, Father." Nico was standing nervously behind the door, not having entered. "I can leave."

Hades noticed he was holding something in his hands. It glowed brightly in the dark room, but was too far away for him to discern. "What's that you're holding?"

Nico stepped slightly further in. "It's for you," he explained.

"Let me see it," Hades ordered, slightly curious.

Nico walked up to his father until he was standing a short distance away from him and held up the object. Hades saw it was a snow globe of some sort. It was a very nice one. The glass was dark, and there was a sparkling little palace inside that the snow fell onto before landing at the bottom of the globe.

"It's a snow globe," Nico explained. "I thought you might like it. The palace in it looks like yours."

"It does," Hades admitted, eyeing the miniature silver towers. "Except without the snow falling."

There was a silence before Hades spoke up. "What am I supposed to use this for?"

"Uh... nothing," Nico replied, shifting nervously. "It's just an ornament."

"Then what was the purpose of bringing it to me?" Hades asked, slightly annoyed.

Nico lowered the globe, looking disappointed by his father's reaction. "It's Christmas Eve in the Upper World," he explained. "Did you know?"

"Yes," Hades replied. That was the second time he had been reminded of it.

"So... I thought I'd bring you something," Nico explained. "I know it's stupid."

"Let me see it," Hades ordered. His son held out his hand, and he tentatively accepted the gift.

"I... uh... wanted to ask you something," Nico said when several moments passed without Hades speaking. "I mean, it's just a small thing. You don't have to. But–"

"What?" Hades urged, annoyed by his babbling.

"Could... could I stay here tomorrow?" Nico blurted out.

"What?"

"I mean, in your palace," Nico explained.

"You can stay if you wish," Hades replied. "But why?"

"Well, it's Christmas tomorrow. Everyone at camp will be celebrating," Nico explained. "I really don't want to talk to anyone. And..." He looked down and mumbled something.

"What is it?" Hades urged.

"I... I was thinking we could do something together." Hades had to strain to hear, and even then he wasn't sure he had heard correctly.

"Excuse me?" Hades raised an eyebrow.

"Not something big," Nico clarified. "We could just go check on Cerberus. Or have dinner together."

"Then you'd stay in the Underworld permanently," Hades noted, still surprised by the request.

"Okay, not dinner," Nico conceded. "Though I could bring my own food."

There was a silence, and Nico looked more and more nervous. He was about to leave when his father spoke up.

"That seems highly unnecessary," Hades said. "I hardly see the point."

"Well, it is Christmas," Nico noted.

"People don't stop dying because it's a holiday," Hades retorted. "I still have work to do. That's far more important. Couldn't you go to that camp instead?

Nico lowered his eyes, but not before Hades saw the glint of hurt in them. "Of course, Father." He said it without much respect, but Hades let it slide.

"You're still free to stay here," Hades offered.

"No, forget it." Hades thought he heard a touch of anger in his son's voice. "I'll just leave. Wouldn't want to distract you from your paperwork."

There was definitely some anger when he said that. Hades watched his son turn and leave, shutting the door with more force than usual. He looked down at the snow globe. It was rather nice.

That was the second person he had angered, and on Christmas Eve, of all times. No matter. He returned to his paperwork, trying to forget about it.

* * *

"Hades, why don't you redecorate?"

Hades groaned as he was once again faced with nagging from his overbearing mother-in-law/older sister. At least she wasn't lecturing him about marrying her daughter again, or about eating more cereal.

"It is Christmas, after all," Demeter pointed out. Hades was beginning to hate being reminded of that holiday. "Your palace could really use it. At least put up some lights to make it less dark."

"Last time I checked, it was my palace, not yours," Hades noted through gritted teeth.

"You could take the decorations down after Christmas," Demeter continued, not listening to him. "Then it'll be as miserable and gloomy as it was before. Just how you like it."

"No," Hades snarled, losing patience.

"It's not how you like it?"

"I don't want to redecorate!" Hades snapped. "It's none of your business, anyway."

Demeter glared at him. "Excuse me? It was my business when you married my daughter and made her live with you for half the year. You could at least make sure she lives in a decent place."

"Ask Persephone, then," Hades suggested. "I'm sure she doesn't care."

Demeter scowled at him. "I'm leaving. I can't stand being in this dump you call a palace."

"Please do," Hades urged. "It'd be much quieter around here without you around."

Demeter glared at him one last time before leaving. Hades groaned internally. That was three people he had angered in less than an hour. Not that people disliking him was anything new, but angering everyone right before Christmas required talent.

Well, at least Persephone was around, since it was winter. He headed for her chambers, wanting to see her after all the arguments he had gotten into. Maybe she would cheer him up.

"Hades!" Persephone turned around as she saw her husband enter, smiling. "It's nice to see you."

"Hello, Persephone," Hades said. "It's nice to see someone's happy to see me."

"Oh no. Was my mother pestering you again?"

"She was asking me to redecorate this time," Hades explained. "Then she got mad at me and left."

"Good riddance," Persephone said. "She has a point, though. You should redecorate."

Hades groaned. "Oh, not you too."

Persephone giggled. "Oh, I'm only joking, Hades."

"Oh, good."

Persephone suddenly grew serious. "I wanted to ask you something, though."

"What is it?"

"Well, did you know that tomorrow is Christmas?"

Hades winced at the word. So far, the holiday had only caused everyone to hate him. Or rather, his hatred of the holiday had. "You're the fourth person to tell me."

"Well, I was thinking, maybe we could do something together tomorrow," Persephone suggested. "Just the two of us." Hades winced again. He wasn't looking forward to having this conversation again.

"I'm not sure, dear." He tried to break it to her as gently as possible.

"Why not?" She frowned. "We could go on a honeymoon. When was the last time we did?"

"Not that long ago," Hades said. "Only a few years."

"More like a few decades," Persephone corrected. "You kept making excuses about being busy."

"I'd love to, really I would," Hades said. "But I have a lot of work to do."

"Come on, Hades," Persephone pleaded. "We already only see each other for half the year. And now you don't even want to spend Christmas with me?"

"I do," Hades insisted. "But I have work to do. Maybe another time..."

"Oh, I see how it is." A note of anger had entered Persephone's voice. "You're too busy for your own wife."

"That's not true, dear." Hades felt a headache coming on. Now even his wife was angry at him.

"Yes it is!" she accused. "Well, in that case, I'm staying with my mother for Christmas. At least she'd actually spend time with me."

Hades gaped. "Persephone, you can't!" It amazed him how quickly she had gone from friendly to furious. Maybe his brother Zeus was right about goddesses being impossible to understand.

"I can," she insisted, heading towards the door. "Maybe I'll come back once you learn how to be a better husband."

Great. Now his own wife hated him. Hades felt like a hate magnet. He had made everyone hate him right before Christmas. Then again, he was used to being hated. The Olympians certainly didn't like him.

At least he had the palace all to himself now. He liked it better this way, anyway. No son, mother-in-law, or wife to pester him. Yes, he was better off that way, he convinced himself, though he didn't entirely believe it.

* * *

A while later, Hades was visited by his brother, Poseidon. He cried out in surprise as he saw him in his throne room.

"What are you doing here?" he demanded, glaring at him.

Poseidon just smiled at him. "Can't I visit my favorite brother on Christmas Eve?"

"Favorite brother?" Hades scoffed disbelievingly.

"Well, I like you better than Zeus," Poseidon said. It was true. They had always gotten along the best of the Big Three. "Zeus was being unbearable, so I decided to visit you instead."

"Get out of my palace," Hades snapped.

"I will, I will," Poseidon assured, raising his hands defensively. "I just wanted to wish you a merry Christmas."

Hades scoffed. "What's so merry about it?"

Poseidon raised an eyebrow. "Not feeling the holiday spirit, are you, brother?"

"It's just made everyone hate me so far," Hades confessed. Well, that wasn't entirely true. It was more like his hatred of the holiday had.

"Doesn't everyone already hate you?" Poseidon asked, only half joking.

"Well, hate me more, then," Hades corrected. "Even Persephone left. She got angry with me for not spending enough time with her."

"So much for your perfect marriage," teased Poseidon.

"I thought you were going to leave," Hades reminded, glaring at his brother.

"Wait, Persephone left?" Poseidon asked, seeming to just realise. "What happened?"

"None of your business," Hades snapped. "Now will you leave like you said?"

"Okay, okay," Poseidon conceded, frowning. "You know, I'm not surprised she left, if you treat her like this. Merry Christmas, brother."

As his brother left, Hades mentally kicked himself. He had done it again, angered someone with his hostile behavior and made them leave him. His brother was just trying to help, as annoying as he was. At least he wasn't as bad as Zeus. He supposed being a brother was the fifth thing he was terrible at.

No, what was he thinking? Since when did he care about his brothers? Poseidon deserved exactly what he had said for barging into his palace uninvited. He should be glad to have the palace to himself. He was glad. He was all alone, which was just how he liked it. Wasn't it?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I managed to post this on Christmas Eve, literally an hour before midnight. Well, it's still Christmas Eve. I was tempted to make this an original story. I like the idea of someone hating Christmas because of their family. Christmas is a time for family, so maybe they don't get along with theirs. And Hades definitely doesn't.


	2. The Shackled Ghost

Hades slipped into bed, trying to clear his mind. It definitely wasn't how he imagined most people spent Christmas Eve. They spent it with friends and family, instead of arguing with their family. It was ironic, really. Christmas was a time for family, and Hades had spent it arguing with his instead. Then again, that was nothing new. His family had always shunned him.

He lay there for a while, his eyes open. The palace was so quiet. Well, it always was at night, but now that everyone was gone, it seemed even more so. He longed for Persephone to be lying next to him. He always did when it was spring and summer, but knowing she had left willingly was more painful for him.

It was then that he heard the first sound. It was a clanking sound, like metal against metal. It was coming from just outside his door. He immediately stood up, alert. Who was there at that hour?

Before he could do anything, the door broke open, sending a gust of cold air inside. Standing there was, no doubt, a ghost. A silvery sheen covered him and he was floating in the air. But that wasn't the strange part. The strange part was that he was wearing chains and shackles on his wrists, like a criminal.

But even that wasn't the strangest part. The strangest part was his appearance. He was very familiar to Hades. The cold, dark eyes, the dark hair, and especially the mustache...

No, it couldn't be...

"Hello, Father." The ghost smiled. "Did you miss me?"

"You!" Hades gasped. "How did you get here?"

"Is that any way to greet your son?" the figure asked mockingly.

"You're no son of mine," Hades spat.

"Ouch. You truly wound me, Father." The metal chains clacked as he placed a hand over his chest.

"What are you doing here?" Hades demanded. "And where did you get those chains?"

"They're punishment for my crimes in life," he explained. "I have to carry them as a reminder."

"That's not true," Hades insisted. "No person sent to the fields of punishment wears chains."

"Well, I am worse than the others," he said. "Far, far worse." He waved his arms around, causing more clanking sounds.

"Indeed you are, Adolf," Hades agreed. "But, still..."

Hitler floated around. "You see, Father. I deserve these chains. I have no doubt about that."

"I agree," Hades said. "You deserve the worst punishments imaginable. And since you seem to agree, would you please get back to the fields of punishment?"

"I am merely here to warn you of your own fate, Father," Hitler explained. "You could easily turn out like me if you're not careful."

Hades gave a hollow laugh. "When I've attempted genocide, maybe."

"Like your actions are any better," his son accused. "There's a reason your family shuns you. How's my half brother doing, by the way? The one who helped defeat Grandfather?"

"He's made me proud, unlike you," Hades said coolly. It felt odd to defend his son after their argument, but he didn't deserve to be compared to Hitler... or his half brother.

"Anyway, Father, I came to warn you."

"Warn me about you coming?" Hades asked. "It's a little too late for that."

Hitler have a wry smile. "No. Warn you about who you will meet."

"Who?" Hades was tempted to add a sarcastic remark, but decided against it, thinking his son was serious.

Hitler paused before the next words. "You will be haunted by three ghosts."

Hades stared at him for a moment, then burst out laughing. It was his first real laugh in a long time. "Are you serious? Me, haunted by ghosts? Do you know who I am?" It was like Poseidon being haunted by sea creatures, or Athena being haunted by books. Or Zeus being haunted by his own ego... "If anything, I'd be the one haunting them."

"Or you'd make them hate you," Hitler said, smiling. "Like you made everyone else hate you."

Hades paled. "How do you know about that?"

"Isn't it obvious? It's no secret your family hates you." Hades calmed down. So he didn't know about the events of the day.

"Even if what you say is true, I'll order them to leave me alone, and they will," Hades asserted, ignoring the last statement.

"No they won't," he said. "They're not the ghosts you know. They won't take orders from you, though you can try. They're not afraid of you."

"Everyone is afraid of me," Hades retorted, rather proud of it.

"Or they hate you," Hitler retorted.

"Wait..." Hades paused. "This all seems rather familiar. A ghost in shackles and three ghosts?" He had heard of the story. Even read it once, a century ago. He had heard from his brothers that the movies were better.

Hitler ignored him. "You will meet the first ghost at one."

"Couldn't I meet them all at once, and get it over with?" Hades asked.

He ignored him again. "You will meet the second at two."

"Let me guess, the third at three?" Hades asked.

Surprise, he ignored him yet again. "You will meet the third at three."

"I already have to deal with hundreds of ghosts on a daily basis," snapped Hades. "Now they can't even let me sleep in peace?"

Without replying, ghost in front of him faded away until the room was empty again. Hades was about to look around the dark room, but before he could, his eyes shot open, and he was lying in his bed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I didn't know whether to include this or go right to the three ghosts. I don't like Hitler being a son of Hades. I don't imagine him having a lot of demigod children, actually. I don't think he'd be with many mortal women. He really loved Maria, so I think she'd be the exception. But I couldn't have a random person from the fields of punishment show up, it wouldn't be as powerful as his own son.


	3. The Ghost of Christmas Past

Was it all a dream? Hades sat up in bed, shivering even though he was usually used to the cold. That must be it. Ghosts didn't wear shackles. And him, the lord of the dead, being haunted by ghosts? The idea was laughable. He must have read that story more recently than he thought.

But since when did he have dreams? Especially nightmares? He was the one who appeared in people's nightmares.

But then he realised he was not alone in the room. A wispy, bright figure was floating in the distance. In fact, it was so bright Hades had to shield his eyes. He had been spooked upon waking up and by what he had seen that he hadn't even noticed it before.

The figure slowly dimmed until Hades could open his eyes. It was duller now, but still bright. Hades could vaguely make out a face at the top, shifting with the figure's form. It was so vague and malleable he doubted he had even seen it.

"Hello, Hades." It had the voice of a little girl. "I am the ghost of Christmas past."

"What?" Hades demanded.

"You will be haunted by three ghosts," she explained.

"Let me guess," he dared to say. "You're the ghost of Christmas past?" He remembered that about the story.

"I am." It had an innocent, childish voice, like that of a little girl.

"Well, how far in the past will you take me?" Hades asked. "I am millions of years old, after all."

"Really?" she asked. "You don't look a day over thirty."

"Funny," Hades replied, rolling his eyes. "Well, ghost, I order you to leave me and return to your rightful place."

"I cannot," she replied calmly. "I will only leave after I have fulfilled my duties."

Hades remembered what he had heard about these ghosts not following his orders. She didn't look or sound like any other ghost he knew, either. And he knew a fair amount.

The ghost was standing in front of him now, and Hades could see that she was constantly shifting. "Touch my hand, Hades." She lifted the right side of her figure and offered it to him. Hades supposed that counted as her hand.

He hesitated. He could go back to sleep and forget this ever happened. The last thing he needed was a trip down memory lane accompanied by some patronising ghost. He hated thinking about his past as it was.

But he was slightly curious. He had never seen ghosts like this before. Could she really take him into the past? It was worth a try. He could always order her to take him back if he didn't like what he saw.

He reached out his hand, pale and cold, and touched it to the ghost's one. To his surprise, her touch was warm and gentle, even pleasant. He wondered if she could feel his cold hand touching her.

A moment later, he felt himself flying weightlessly through the air, still grasping the ghost's hand. They were flying out of the palace and even the Underworld, but Hades couldn't quite see how. One moment they were there, and the next they were flying through the cold night air. It whipped around Hades, making him feel alive for once. Then he felt himself landing, but as he did, the dark sky changed completely.

Looking around, he saw it was morning. It was as cold as before, but the sky was brighter. There was snow falling everywhere, but the place was crowded with people. They were in a town. People were talking and bustling on the streets in scarves and jackets, some even singing. Hades could hear cheerful, yet elegant music in the distance.

Hades jumped as he saw two boys running towards him, but when they were about to knock him over, they simply ran through him instead, as if he was invisible. He heard one of the boys call something to each other in another language. It was Italian.

"No one can see or hear us," the ghost explained, seeing the shocked look on Hades face. "It is simply a memory of the past."

That wasn't what shocked Hades the most. He heard several more people talking and yelling in Italian. He understood the words, though it was hard to pick up all of them. He even recognised some of the buildings in the place. With a start, he realised where he was. He was in Venice. The city he had met Maria.

Maria... just thinking about her made him ache. He hated Zeus for killing her, far more than anything else his brother had done to him in his lifetime. Which was saying a lot.

Hades walked through the street, taking in the sights and sounds. He hadn't been there for almost a century, but he could remember everything quite well. He had visited whenever he had the opportunity, after all.

"Follow me, Lord Hades," the ghost ordered softly. Hades almost laughed at the idea of listening to someone who sounded like a little girl, but reluctantly followed her. Would she show him Maria? He was half joyful, half terse about the idea. He didn't know if he could bear to see her again, but at the same time, he hoped he could.

They walked away from the loud, bustling town to a quiet street lined with houses. There were only a few people outside. Hades felt a sudden strong connection to the area. He had definitely been there before. The ghost stopped in front of one of the houses near the end, and Hades did too – and he gasped.

It was Maria's house. Well, not really. She had lived in a flat. It was tall and elegant, the snow falling onto the balconies and sparse plants on them. The winter season gave it a chilly appearance. It was painted a caramel color in some areas and rich dark brown in others. Hades could even see a woman outside on her balcony, dressed warmly from the cold. He stared to see if she was Maria, but she wasn't. She went back inside quickly.

The ghost floated forward and disappeared into the building. Hades followed, finding he went right through the front door. It was a welcome relief from the cold. The spirit floated up several stairs, seeming to forget Hades couldn't.

He walked over to the stairs, only for his foot to go through the first step. He tried to touch the railing, only for his hand to go through that as well. The ghost then floated down, offering her hand. He accepted it, and they floated up to the next floor.

He could stand there, and followed her to the front of one of the rooms. She walked right through the door like before, and Hades followed. He felt an intense wave of emotion upon seeing the living room. He had lived here, or at least, visited frequently. But while it was usually neat and plain, it was now brightly decorated. A lit up Christmas tree stood in the corner, fairy lights were strung over the couches and tables, and a radio on the polished coffee table played soft Italian music.

But Hades didn't dwell on the decorations, because there was something else that caught his eye. The people in the room. One was himself, which made him jump out of his skin. It was so strange seeing himself outside of a reflection. But it could be no one else. The same deathly pale skin, jet black hair, and regal composure. The only difference was that he was wearing a black pinstripe suit instead of the black robes he was now. He supposed that kind of clothing was more appropriate to mortals.

He was even more unnerved by the woman next to him on the couch. She was very beautiful. She had dark hair that framed her face, olive skin, and was wearing an elegant black dress and pearly white gloves. His heart ached, with both joy and sadness. He wanted to reach out and touch her, embrace her, kiss her, but stood where he was. His past self would probably do that for him instead. Besides, he remembered, he couldn't touch anyone in the memory.

On the floor, a little boy and girl were playing. The boy was smiling and giggling, trying to catch his sister's attention. It was surprising for Hades to see his son happy. These days, he was always angry and withdrawn.

Hades and Maria were talking to each other in Italian. Hades still understood the language, even though it had been almost a decade since he had needed to speak it to anyone. He sometimes spoke it to himself. It kept Maria's memory alive, in a way.

"I am so happy you could come here today," Maria was saying. "I have always loved this holiday. It is a time for family."

"Then you should spend it with your family," the past Hades suggested.

"I am," she retorted. "Now that you are here, my family is complete."

"But what about your parents?" Hades asked. "And your brother? Surely you'd want to spend the holiday with them."

"They're always too busy for me," she said. "So is my brother. But I don't care about them. Anyway, I could ask the same to you. Why aren't you with your family?"

"Isn't it obvious?" he asked. "They hate me."

"Well, as long as we're together, with the children, we don't need anyone else." Maria draped her arm around Hades.

Hades smiled sadly at the memory. He had loved Maria, more than any mortal before. And then, Zeus had ruined everything...

"She's beautiful," the ghost suddenly said. "And the children are lovely."

Hades watched them. Nico was chatting happily to Bianca, who was busy playing with her dolls. They both had dark hair and olive skin, like their mother. But their eyes were as dark as their father's.

"Two are dead, and the other hates me," he stated bluntly. He could never resist being morbid.

The ghost was taken aback. "I'm sorry to hear that."

Was it true? Did his son hate him? Hades wouldn't blame him. He hadn't been the best father.

Then Nico lost interest in his sister and walked up to his parents. He wrapped his little arms around his father's legs.

"Is he one of the two who died?" the ghost asked. "I'm very sorry to hear it."

"What? No," Hades replied.

The past Hades glanced down at his son, and, after a hesitation, picked him up. Nico giggled in his father's lap.

"He doesn't look like he hates you," the ghost noted.

"Well, not now," Hades said.

Then Bianca came over, obviously feeling left out, and her mother picked her up. Hades felt a pang of sadness at the scene. They had been such a happy family, once. He was happier with them than with his immortal family. And then, it had all been ruined. Well, not all of it. He still had his son left. But he had driven him away as well. He had been a terrible father, cold and demeaning. He hadn't appreciated what he had left. Maria would be so disappointed if she knew how he had treated their son.

"I'm afraid we must go now," the ghost said, offering her transparent hand to Hades again.

Maybe it was best to leave. Hades didn't think he could stand observing the memory for any longer. He accepted the ghost's hand, his gaze still focused on the image, and felt himself flying again. When he landed, he was back in his palace, and jumped when he saw himself again. It was even more unnerving, since he was wearing the same black robes.

He wasn't alone, either. Persephone was there, and she looked rather angry. Hades groaned internally, wondering what his past self had done to upset her.

"I wasn't!" he was saying.

"You were!" she insisted. "You were with that mortal woman, weren't you?"

The present Hades winced. So this was after she had found out about Maria.

"Don't lie to me, Hades!" she shrieked.

"Alright, I was," he admitted. "But–"

"I knew it!" she cried. "You'd rather spend Christmas with her than me."

"I was only with her for a short time," Hades argued. "I can spend the rest of the day with you."

"Oh, that's great," she scoffed. "You can have both of your girlfriends!" She glared at him. "You know what? Forget it. I don't want to spend Christmas with you. You can to back to that woman if you want. I wouldn't want to interrupt your time with her."

"Persephone, wait!" Hades pleaded, but it was too late. It looked like the mortals would be experiencing another unusually warm day in winter.

Hades remembered he hadn't gone back to Maria on that day. He had felt too guilty to. He always called his brother Zeus a terrible husband, but he didn't seem to be much better.

At least he had wanted to spend Christmas with her on that day, though. He had said he was too busy, but it wouldn't take much time to do something together. Even if it was just half an hour together, having dinner or strolling through Elysium. The same could be said about Nico.

"We must go now, Hades," the ghost said. "You will be taken back into the present."

"Already?" Hades asked, both relieved and disappointed.

As he took her hand, he felt himself flying, but instead of landing somewhere, he found himself suddenly lying in his bed again, his eyes wide open.


	4. The Ghost of Christmas Present

Had it been a dream? No. It had been real. Everything he had been shown flashed through his mind quickly. Seeing Venice, Maria's home, and Maria and the children for the first time in years... he was both glad he had been taken out of the painful memory of previous happiness, and disappointed he couldn't see more of how happy things used to be.

And then he had seen Persephone. He was starting to empathise with his brother Zeus. He imagined that was how Hera acted whenever he cheated on her. At least he was a more loyal husband, Hades thought with a hint of smugness. Now that he thought about it, Hera and Persephone would be good friends.

When would the next ghost show up? Just as he thought that, he saw bright, glistening light appear in his room.

"Oh, for gods sake!" Hades exclaimed. Couldn't he get at least an hour to recover from the first ghost?

The light faded until it revealed the ghost. To Hades' surprise, he was not made out of light like the previous one. He was a large man who greatly resembled Santa. He had a mass of dark hair with a sprig of holly on his head and a beard the same color and wore crimson velvet robes. Despite not being made of light, he seemed to insert more light in the room than the previous ghost.

"Hello, Hades." He had a deep, yet friendly voice. "I am the ghost of Christmas present."

"Of course you are," Hades grumbled.

"That's a nice snow globe." Hades noticed the ghost was staring at the snow globe next to the bed. He didn't know why he had left it there. "Is it your Christmas present?"

"I thought you were Christmas present," Hades joked, surprising himself.

The ghost burst out laughing, a loud, merry laugh. "Good one, Hades! I didn't know you made jokes."

"Oh, just show me what you want to," Hades snapped. "Should I take your hand?"

"Where did you get the globe from?" The ghost ignored him, seeming transfixed by the ornament. "Your wife?"

"None of your business," Hades snapped.

"Okay, okay. Take my hand, Hades." Hades reluctantly obliged, and felt himself flying again. He didn't fly for long, and ended up at another area of the Underworld. His son Nico was there, along with Charon. The latter was talking to him animatedly, and Hades groaned when he heard what he was saying.

"I work my hardest," Charon was saying. "But Lord Hades is cruel, harsh, and unforgiving."

"Well, you're right about the second part," Nico scoffed. Hades scowled while the ghost chuckled, no doubt finding the comment amusing.

"I always hoped that one day, he'd become nicer and–"

"Nicer?" Nico interrupted. "That'd be a Christmas miracle."

"–and give me a pay raise," Charon finished. Hades scowled again. "Anyway, I was wondering if you could talk to Hades and ask him to give me one."

"Yeah right," Nico scoffed. "It's easier trying to talk to the zombies." Hades scowled again, but was slightly taken aback by the venom in his son's voice. He didn't know Nico... disliked him so much.

"Oh... I see." Charon seemed surprised as well. "But perhaps you can give me one instead? I'm sure you're kinder than Hades."

"It's not hard to be," Nico replied. Well, at least he seemed more interested in insulting him than the pay raise.

"Geez," the ghost remarked. "What did you do to make your son hate you so much? Forget to show up to a baseball game? Take away his favorite toy?" Hades ignored his attempts at humor.

"Maybe later," Nico told Charon. "I'm going to the Upper World."

"The Upper World?" Charon exclaimed. "But why?"

"I like it more than this place," said Nico. "It's lord of the underworld free."

As Nico left before Charon could protest, the ghost instructed Hades to take his hand. Hades was grateful he wouldn't have to watch his son insult him more and took it without hesitation. He felt himself flying again, and was shocked by the sight that greeted him when he landed.

Persephone was sobbing into her bed, her shoulders shaking. She clearly wasn't in Hades' palace. Her mother Demeter was next to her, rubbing her back comfortingly.

"Persephone, what's wrong?" Hades asked, forgetting she couldn't hear him. He couldn't bear to see his wife in such a state.

"This is on Christmas day," the ghost informed, seeming unfazed by the scene. "Technically the future. But like I said, there is no real present."

"It's okay, dear," Demeter soothed. "Don't cry. Forget about him."

"I can't!" Persephone cried, and Hades gasped. Was he the reason for her distress? No, that couldn't be. He would never reduce her to such a state.

"It's alright," Demeter repeated. Hades had never seen her talk so kindly before. Probably because she was always yelling at him or nagging Persephone.

"I can't believe Hades blew me off, on Christmas Eve." Her tearful words made Hades' heart sink. So it was him. "I really thought he'd want to spend Christmas with me."

"I always told you it was a mistake to marry him," Demeter said, in her usual nagging tone this time. "First he kidnapped you, then cheated on you with that mortal woman, and now he blows you off on Christmas."

"Mother!" Persephone cried, sobbing louder. Hades preferred his son's insults over Persephone's sobbing.

"Sorry, dear," Demeter said quickly, and her voice was back to the kind, soothing tone Hades was so unfamiliar with. "But it's honestly what I think."

"I really wish you'd stop lecturing me," Persephone sniffed. "We're married, and I love him. Well, I don't right now, but usually, I do."

"I'm sorry, dear. I didn't mean to upset you more," said Demeter. "I just care about you. When he kidnapped you... it was the worst day of my life. Even if he hadn't, I wouldn't be happy about him marrying you. Maybe when you have children, you'll understand. Not like Hades ever could," she added bitterly.

But he did understand. After Zeus had killed Maria, he had been forced to place his children in the Lotus Casino, and not interact with them for decades. He longed to talk to them, to bring them to the Underworld, like he had wanted to do years ago, but he knew they were safer there. If someone kidnapped them, it'd be even worse, since they wouldn't be safe with that person. He still didn't like Demeter, but perhaps he could put lights up in his palace. Just for tomorrow.

"Hades isn't that bad," Persephone sniffled.

"What?" Demeter exclaimed. "But he made you cry." Maybe Zeus was right about goddesses being impossible to understand, thought Hades.

"Yes, but he isn't all bad." Her sobs had receded to sniffles by then. "He's a good, attentive husband for the most part. He just acts like this sometimes. I'm being silly and dramatic, really." She wiped her hand across her eyes.

"No you're not," Demeter assured. "But forget about him. You have me to spend Christmas with. We'll have a great Christmas together." She wrapped her arms around her daughter, who buried her head in her mother's chest. Hades watched with a bit of begrudging respect towards Demeter. She may be unbearable and overbearing, but she did care about her daughter. That was why she had gotten so angry when Hades married her. And she was there for her on Christmas, which was more than could be said about Hades and his son.

"We must go, Hades," the ghost said. "But it's a touching scene, don't you think? Makes me want to cry. Happy tears, that is. That is, if I could cry."

Hades didn't reply. Persephone had been sad because of him, and Nico had been angry. He preferred the latter, but neither were great. He could handle the Olympians hating him, but not his own wife and son. He was always complaining about the Olympians pushing him away, but he had pushed his wife and son away. He should've felt grateful they wanted to spend time with him. Nobody else could tolerate him. And what had he done? Made it clear he preferred to be alone.

"Earth to Hades?" the ghost asked. "You have to take my hand."

"I will," Hades snarled. "You're not funny, ghost. Quit with your jokes."

"Just trying to lighten the mood," the ghost replied as Hades took his hand. This time, he thought he was back in his palace for a moment, before realising he wasn't. It looked a lot like one of the rooms, though. As dark and gloomy as the others. He realised this was the cabin now built for him at Camp Half-Blood. About time they gave him one, and it was decent. His son had designed it himself, and it definitely suited Hades well.

As expected, his son Nico was in the cabin. As not expected, another boy was as well. A boy who greatly resembled one of Hades' brothers.

Hades groaned out loud. Percy Jackson, son of Poseidon, the bane of his existence. He had never met such an insolent, disrespectful mortal in his life. Well, aside from his son, if his remarks to Charon were anything to go by. He was even more annoying than his father. Hades had felt slightly guilty for sending that Fury after him after finding out he hadn't actually stolen his helm of darkness, but not anymore. He deserved it for his smart mouth.

What was more, there was another boy next to him. A boy with deathly pale skin, jet black hair... oh, no. What was his son doing in the Poseidon cabin? Did he hate his father so much he preferred being in a different cabin?

"It's so dark in here," Percy remarked. "How can you see anything?"

"Well, it is the Hades cabin," Nico noted, looking annoyed. Hades felt a twinge of sympathy for him.

"Well, you designed it well, if a little gloomy," Percy said. "I heard you had a bunch of undead servants to help."

"Why are you here?" Nico snapped. "Don't you have a cabin of your own?"

"Well, yes," Percy replied. "But can't I visit my favorite cousin on Christmas?" The words sounded familiar to Hades.

"Favorite cousin?" Nico asked incredulously.

"Well, you're the only one around my age instead of thousands of years old," said Percy. "Except for Thalia. But she's a hunter now, so..."

"We're not really related," Nico noted.

Percy ignored him. "I wanted to say Merry Christmas."

For a moment, Hades was expecting his son to react like he had when told that by Poseidon. But instead he said, "Thank you... But it's not very merry."

"Why?" Percy asked. "Everyone's out there celebrating. Seems pretty merry to me."

Nico didn't reply, glancing down instead with a downtrodden expression. Hades was taken aback. Was he that upset about not being able to do anything with his father on Christmas?

"What's wrong?" Percy asked, concerned. "I can tell something's bothering you."

"It's nothing," Nico replied. "Nothing you would understand."

"I've been killing monsters and fighting gods since I was your age," retorted Percy. "I think I would. Go on, tell me."

Nico looked up, gazing at Percy through his dark bangs. "Yesterday, I went to the Underworld."

"Why?" Percy asked. "You have a cabin here now."

"I know... it's just, I have a room there as well. I wanted to talk to my father."

"How'd it go?" Percy asked. "Not great, I'm guessing." He looked uncomfortable at the mention of Hades, to the god's approval. It was good if the boy was scared of him.

"I gave him a Christmas present," Nico replied. "A snow globe. It cost quite a lot."

"Wow." Percy looked baffled by the idea of someone giving Hades a present. "Did he like it?"

"Not really," Nico replied, looking disappointed. "But that doesn't matter. Anyway, I asked him something really dumb."

"Can't be dumber than that time I gave him advice on how to rule the Underworld," Percy noted.

"You did that?" Nico sounded impressed.

"Yeah. I told him he should walk Cerberus more and give Charon a pay raise." Nico looked relieved he hadn't asked his father to give Charon a pay raise.

"I asked him if he wanted to do something with me on Christmas," Nico explained, looking embarrassed. "That went as well as you'd expect."

"Wow." Percy stared at Nico.

"I told you it was dumb," Nico said. "You can laugh at me now."

"It's not dumb," insisted Percy. "It's brave. I could never ask my dad that. I'd be too afraid to."

"More like you'd be too sensible to," Nico retorted. "Of course, he said no. He was as cold as ever. You know, ever since I convinced him to help the other gods, I thought he'd be a bit nicer. Just a little."

"He should," Percy agreed. "You're the reason Kronos was defeated, and the other gods respect him now." Hades scoffed at that. He doubted some (Zeus) would ever respect him.

"Well, your dad adores you," Nico said bitterly. "Don't know what you have to complain about."

Was he jealous? But Hades did ado— care about his son. He just didn't show it always... often... ever.

"Not really," Percy replied, surprised by Nico's words. "When we first met, he called me a wrongdoing and said he was sorry I was born."

Nico looked surprised. "Really?"

"Yeah," Percy replied. "Well, he also said I was his favorite son."

Nico scowled. "Of course..." Hades also scowled, because one of his brothers was outdoing him at something.

"Well, forget about Hades," Percy told his cousin. "He might not appreciate you, but everyone at camp does. Everyone loves you after what you did. I bet you're the most popular kid."

Nico laughed. "No way. I bet you are. You're the one who killed Medusa and the minotaur when you were twelve."

"That was years ago," said Percy dismissively. "Anyway, you're twelve, and you summoned a skeleton army to defeat Kronos. And told him his death would make you happy. That was pretty awesome."

Hades smirked. Maybe Poseidon's son wasn't so bad. He watched them leave the cabin into the light outside.

He remembered how Poseidon had done the same thing. He had shown up to wish Hades a merry Christmas and ask what his problems were, like his son had done for Hades' son, and Hades had blown him off and told him to leave. At least his son had been nicer.

"We must go now," the ghost said. "Last one, Hades."

Hades took his hand, and found himself in his palace again. He saw himself all alone in his throne room, back hunched, doing paperwork. He waited several moments to see if something would happen, but nothing did. He simply sat there, doing paperwork as usual, occasionally making a sound of annoyance. He supposed he should be used to it, and he was, but it was depressing to see himself all alone, spending Christmas like this. He probably wouldn't have cared if he hadn't seen his wife and son spending Christmas with others and being angry at him for blowing him off. He could be spending time with them.

"Well, that's depressing," the ghost remarked. "Is this how you spend Christmas? Seems rather boring."

Hades didn't reply.

"Well, I suppose there's nothing else to see here," he said, offering his hand to Hades. He took it, and the immediate moment afterwards, found himself lying in his bed yet again, his eyes popping open.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I loved when Nico was roasting Hades to Charon like a teen who hates his father. I imagine him constantly doing so, and them constantly insulting each other. For example: Hades: I'm going to the fields of punishment. At least the tortured spirits are more tolerable than you. Nico: Of course you can tolerate them. They're as horrible as you are.


End file.
